Addison Marsh
“This is surely the main problem of the War of the Philosopher-Kings: is it permissible merely to carry out orders and commit one's conscience to someone else's keeping? Can a man do without ideas of his own about good and evil, and merely derive them from the printed instructions and verbal orders of his superiors? Oaths! Those solemn pledges pronounced with a tremor in the voice and intended to defend people against the evildoers: see how easily they can be misdirected to the service of the evildoers and against the people!” -Addison Marsh History Addison Marsh was the son of Ulysses Marsh and Clara Marsh, two intrepid souls who fought in the Arendurian Army. With the Demon Wars approaching, they sent their precocious child to the Tower of the Illuminated, so that he could be educated and kept safe. Ulysses and Clara fought valiantly against the demons and emerged alive, but perished when Tolumvire ordered Oranor destroyed. The young boy was sent into a state of shock and disbelief, which transformed into profound hatred of the former Emperor of Arendur. Filled with anger and energy as a youth, Addison become a talented warmage, and had a promising future for him in the Branch of the Sword. Personality If asked about the trials, he will reply that it was a darker time, and that everyone had to make hard choices. If there is anyone nearby who is equal in age to him, he will make an appeal to them, and try to make them complicit. But Addison Marsh is no coward. Let that not be forgotten that his gentleman's mask belies enormous rage. And most importantly, the charge that he is a cynic bereft of guiding principles - is the greatest lie of all. War of the Philosopher-Kings When the War of the Philosopher-Kings broke out, Addison saw a repeat of the follies of the past. Remembering the sacrifice his parents made for him, he decided that he would not hide amongst the ranks of Illuminated. He had always idolized the Arendurian Army as an institution that represented some ideal of his parents that he could cling on to. And so, Addison withdrew from the Illuminated and enlisted in the New Arendurian Army. Because of his mage training, he was immediately made an officer, the corporal of a fire team of three men. During the Battle of Forester's Town, he witnessed the Illuminated summon the demon prince Tolumvire to fight for them. The gesture filled his heart with rage and despair. He had been taught that Tolumvire perished in the Demon Wars, but to see the former Emperor as a demonic figure in his own right, still venerated by the Illuminated, spat in the face of his parent's sacrifice and senseless death. Addison fought throughout the rest of the war as a sort of living zombie, making the motions of a man but lost inside his own mind. All the while, he witnessed the campaign of Flavius Luteus Scaevola for Senate, and found in the eyes of the demagogue a mirror reflecting his sense of loss and betrayal. In hindsight, Addison would realize that he had been hoodwinked, but the fact was that Scaevola was a soldier a veteran of the Demon Wars. In him, Addison projected the father he had never known, and began to idolize the demagogue, hanging on to his every word. After the War “Tan Blackhand projects a strong impression of a man at home in the world and on top of his brief. But there are a number of occasions when it suits him to pose as a sort of Candide: naive, and ill-prepared for and easily unhorsed by events. No doubt this pose costs him something in point of self-esteem. It is a pose, furthermore, which he often adopts at precisely the time when the record shows him to be knowledgeable, and when knowledge or foreknowledge would also confront him with charges of responsibility or complicity.” -Addison Marsh, war crime trials Though Addison had retired from active duty by the time the Reich went to war with New Arendur, Addison was recalled as part of the draft. He served listlessly, but never wielded magic against the foe, all the while dreaming that New Arendur would fall and be cleansed of its sins. When New Arendur finally did fall, Addison devoted his energy towards bringing the Illuminated down, proving names, testimony, and other crucial information to the Hexenjägers. In return, any investigation into his witchcraft status was halted, as no Hexenjäger had witnessed him practice magic. In the intervening years spent in semi-exile in Forester's Town, doubts began to gnaw at Addison Marsh. No man living would suggest that he was stupid or gullible, and it became obvious to him that the new regime installed by Flavius Luteus Scaevola was a madman's theocracy in thrall to alien gods. By the time he was hired to teach in, and eventually head the Department of Theosophy, an older and more mature Addison Marsh realized that actions that had seemed like righteous retribution were nothing more than the frenzy of a weak-minded fool swept up in the madness of a demagogue's rise. Yet by now, too much had transpired for Addison to face the enormity of his folly. And so emerged the mask of the self-serving coward, the spineless collaborator who sold out his compatriots for a lease on life. It was easier to think of himself that way, and internalize the contempt of others as some kind of paltry punishment for what he had done. Category:Mages Category:St. Franz's College Category:Illuminated Category:Arendur Category:The Reich Category:Wild Abyss Category:Arendurian Army